


Connection

by Crenarei



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Depression, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2020-09-28 15:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20428541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crenarei/pseuds/Crenarei
Summary: Violet and MacCready's relationship hasn't always been a smooth ride. Getting off on the wrong foot, denying their feelings for each other and facing certain death. They are brought together because they each have what the other needs, hope.Three small looks into Violet and MacCready's relationship.





	1. Beginnings

A stale, damp smell filled The Third Rail, one you’d expect from a dilapidated subway station. Why would anyone want to take that and add the stench of spilt beer and cigarettes by turning it into a bar? Despite this, it was the best place in Goodneighbour if you wanted to drink yourself into oblivion to forget the horrors of your miserable existence in post-nuclear Boston. Violet Edwards, the sole survivor of Vault 111, sat, slouched at the front table staring into her second glass of red wine. It was sour stuff, more vinegar than wine, but it did the job. She wasn’t a big drinker pre-war, a good thing really; it meant she could drink without remembering what used to be. The Commonwealth was disgusting. It reeked and a thick layer of dirt covered everything, including the people. Violet was an obvious outsider with her perfectly curled hair and only mildly stained pre-war clothes. Every day she woke up was a day she wished she hadn’t, wished the radiation had got her, or maybe even a raider at this point. Today was especially difficult.

The minute Doctor Amari had told her she would be entering Kellog’s memories, she realised her day would be horrible. Feeling sympathy for her husband’s killer, her child’s kidnapper, was one of the most unpleasant and surprising feelings she’d been subjected to so far. His life unfolding in front of her, how awful it had all been, how much of her own was reflected in it. The only difference between her and Kellog was how they reacted to their lives falling apart. He survived the best way he knew how. Just as she did. This world was harsh and had the potential to turn people into monsters. What had Shaun been put through? Ten years old, she missed his whole life. If Kellog raised him, was he more of his parent than her? Did he have a good childhood? What would happen if she finally found him, and she couldn’t bear what he had become without her? Violet breathed heavily to suppress the lump in her throat, her eyes burned, tears threatened to swell. She might be too late to save him.

Charlie brought her another glass of wine, and she didn’t lift her head to thank him. Instead, placing the bottle caps on the bar. 

And Nate, God, watching him die again was something she never could have prepared to see. Her best friend, her first love, her rock. He would have been so much better at this than her, he wouldn’t have spent his evenings moping into a wine glass.

Drinking to forget was harder than it sounded.

A fist slammed down onto the bar. Her glass tremored, and Violet glanced up to see two intimidating men in scuffed leather armour glaring at Charlie. They appeared to be raiders. An organised gang it seemed, by the way they were behaving, and the small tattoo signifying blood type on their foreheads.

‘Heard that MacCready was holing up in this dump,’ the one with who had shaved hair said, leaning forward menacingly while the other hung back. ‘We have a message for him.’

‘In the side room, but listen, mate, you start any trouble, and Mayor Hancock will be puttin’ a bullet in you.’ Charlie was unperturbed. She guessed angry gang members were a daily occurrence for him.

Violet watched them storm off in the direction Charlie had gestured before turning to him. 

‘Hey, Charlie, who were they looking for?’ 

‘Look, love, I ain’t gettin’ involved in anyone’s business. You wanna know ‘bout MacCready you can go talk to him yourself.’ He spun to serve another customer.

Usually prying into other people’s lives, especially violent ones, wouldn’t be something that would interest Violet. In fact, it would normally sound like a terrible idea, but God, did she need the distraction today. Picking up her half-empty glass of wine, she headed towards the back to eavesdrop. 

From her vantage point she could see a room lit with muted red light. The men had their backs to her, between them, there was another man, draped over a chair. The man, MacCready, wore a ragged brown trench coat, a utility cap pulled slightly over his face, and looked as if he could be a mercenary himself. Although spying on them was intrusive - she knew she should be ashamed of her behaviour - her curiosity overruled her good manners.

‘In case you forgot, I left the Gunners for good,’ she made out. Not a rising gang war then. Judging from the threats he was receiving from the people who he called Winlock and Barnes, he hadn’t dropped this Gunner group because it was easier for him. Perhaps he had a conscience.

The Gunners turned to leave, heavy steps headed towards the doorway and she stumbled over herself to retreat, coughing and fiddling with her Pip-boy as they passed her. They didn’t notice, or, more likely, they didn’t care.

Curiosity satisfied; Violet began to turn away. A hired gun was not something she was interested in obtaining. Especially not today.

_ Kellogg’s gruff face dressed in a security uniform. He could stand around looking tough, that was why they hired him. The job paid well, and it wasn’t more dangerous than any other work. He was protecting his family, his wife, his newborn child. He was a good father to them than unlike his own.   
_

_ The smell of blood and dirt. Having lost everything, killing was easy. Caps were survival, the only thing that mattered.  
_

_ Stale. Cold. A husband dead, a baby screams. Tearing down families like his own. It’s not like he enjoyed it but that’s what they paid him to do. _

_ __ _

_ __ _

She shook her head to clear it. Kellog wasn’t this mercenary, this MacCready… However, if Violet hired him, he wouldn’t be made to do worse things. It’s not like she would want him to kill innocent people. If she hired him it would be more for his sake than hers, saving him from a life of crime, stopping him from being another Kellog. He could even help her learn to shoot better. Letting out a heavy sigh, she headed into the room.

MacCready noticed her as soon as she entered, his eyebrows raised, but otherwise, he remained unmoving. Other than the excessively large amount of ammo strapped to him he looked like anyone else in Goodneighbour. He might have even been quite handsome if he took off the hat and showered.

‘Look, lady,’ MacCready said, snapping Violet out of her thoughts. How long had she been staring? ‘If you need anything other than a hired gun, you’ve got the wrong guy. ’

‘I’m - uh - yes, a hired gun, I’m interested. Who were those men?’ she feigned innocence, interested to see what he’d say.

‘You don’t already know? I saw you eavesdropping,’ he responded curtly.

‘Oh,’ Her stomach dropped, face becoming hot, she thought she’d been sneaky. ‘Yeah, I guess so… I’m sorry.’

‘What about you? How do I know I won’t end up with a bullet in my back?’

‘I’m not very good with a gun.’ Violet frowned, ‘and I assume you want the caps.’

‘Price is 250, upfront. No room for bargaining.’

Violet reached into the bottlecap department of her bag. Was 250 caps a lot? She couldn’t tell if it was a rip off or not. Passing him the payment, their fingertips brushed together. Calluses made them rough, and his fingernails had dirt in them, but he was warm.

‘Alright boss, where to?’ He seemed less irritable now. Violet guessed that Gunners hanging around wasn’t good for business.

‘Actually, I was just having a drink,’ She glanced into the main room. ‘You’re welcome to join me if you’d like.’

Back at the bar, another glass of wine in her hand, Violet struggled to pay attention to MacCready who was complaining about the taste of the alcohol. She tried to be responsive, nodding and making sounds of agreement when necessary, but it was obvious her thoughts were elsewhere. Paying for his drink made it easier. He couldn’t think badly of his new boss if he got drunk on her caps. A silence fell between them as MacCready watched Magnolia’s performance - the beautiful woman adorned in red sequins who sang at The Third Rail - and Violet sighed a breath of relief. Usually, she would be excited to have company, but the only thing keeping her from leaving was not wanting to seem rude.

_ A gunshot rang in her ears, muffled only slightly by the cryo pod she was trapped inside. Nate’s blood poured on to his navy vault suit. Screaming. Was it hers or Shaun’s? Heart racing. Her baby. Her baby. Where were they taking her baby? Cold emanating her body once again._

She shuddered, wheezing, a memory she often re-lived, but it was never easy. She hadn’t realised memories could be so vivid. When she first left the vault, she’d reacted to them as if they were real, screaming out loud. Spooked Preston a few times. The screams had become silent now, which Violet was pleased about; she didn’t want the attention they brought.

Did MacCready tear apart families? She hired him without even considering what type of person he was. So focused on doing something good, stopping him from hurting people, it had never occurred to her that she might be too late.

‘MacCready,’ she said before thinking, her voice gravelly. ‘Have you ever kidnapped someone?’

His head snapped back to stare at her. ‘What the he... heck kinda question is that? Is that what you hired me for?’ In annoyance, his eyebrows furrowed.

‘What! I’m not kidnapping anyone! No no, I was just, you’re a hired gun, I’m sure you’ve done lots of horrible thin-’

‘I shoot where people tell me to, nothing more.’ His jaw clenched, as he crossed his arms and twisted away from her.

So much for a good first impression.

A heavy silence fell on the pair. Violet swirled the remnants of her wine around in the glass, regretting being rude to the mercenary, but being too exhausted at this point to apologise. None of this had gone according to plan. 

A few minutes turned into ten, the quiet becoming more cloying and all-encompassing with every second that passed. Violet shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her glass empty now.

Despite never having noticed the music stop, Magnolia appeared between them, placing a soft hand on both of their arms. MacCready straightened up, shifting in his seat to look up at the beautiful singer.

‘Lovelies, I cannot help but notice you both seem a little down,’ she breathed, and turned to make eye contact with Violet. ‘Not even my songs can cheer you up tonight, hey?’

Violet let out a heavy sigh. ‘Sorry Magnolia, it’s been a tough day.’

Nodding in understanding, Magnolia leaned towards her. ‘Do you want to go home, sweetheart? As much as Charlie would hate to admit it, a bottle of wine doesn’t always fix difficult times.’

Defeated, Violet placed her glass down on the table and slid off of the stool. She faltered off-balance as she turned to leave, the edges of her vision blurring. She’d had more to drink than she had realised.

‘Handsome, can you do a lady a favour and walk her home?’ Magnolia purred at MacCready. ‘I wouldn’t want to worry.’

He stood, grumbling out an agreement as his stool squeaked against the sticky floor.

The two made their way to Hotel Rexford in silence. Violet kept her head down during the walk, eyes focused on her feet. Goosebumps rose on her arms as a cold burst of wind rushed by. This situation was not one she was used to; everyone said she was good with people, but with MacCready, she had screwed up. Surely, not bad enough that it was impossible to smooth things over.

‘Well, here you go, Hotel Rexford.’ he said, stiffly.

‘MacCready, I’m really sorry that I was rude to you.’ Violet looked down at her shoes. ‘I’ve had a hard day and, I know that’s not an excuse, but it’s why I’ve been so… off.’

There was silence from MacCready. ‘If you’d like, maybe I can tell you why I hired you?’ She offered, struggling to break down the wall between them.

‘Look, Boss,’ he glanced towards the hotel. ‘I thought I told you I wasn’t looking for a “friend”.’

She felt her cheeks go hot, ‘No, no, that’s not what I-’ she began to splutter - until she noticed he was chuckling. ‘Are you making fun of me! I’m trying to apologise here!’.

‘That was too easy, you should have seen your face,’ he said, still laughing.

‘MacCready!’

Nodding at her to continue. ‘Yeah, tell me what I’m getting into.’

Violet faltered again, not sure where to start, how much to disclose. ‘My son was… kidnapped, I’m looking for him.’ She glanced down at the floor. ‘Got a few leads, but, as I said, I’m no good with a gun.’

‘Oh.’ MacCready’s eyes were wide, all remnants of his laughter dissipated. ‘Shi- Sorry Boss, that’s fricking awful.’ 

‘They took him right in front of me. He-he was just a baby and now.’ Tears welled up again. ‘I might be too late.’ 

While she was wiping her eyes to not seem too pathetic, a hand gently reached out to rub her shoulder. Unthinkingly she turned into the touch and MacCready wrapped his warm arms stiffly around her in a hug. The two stayed there for a while. Violet couldn’t remember the last time anyone had hugged her. 

Too soon he released her, stepping back, and fiddling with his duster. ‘How about we just pretend tonight didn’t happen, you hired me and then went straight to the hotel.’

Violet nodded, sniffing. ‘Yes, okay, that sounds good.’ As much as the moment with MacCready was surprisingly tender, she wouldn’t say no to forgetting her earlier faux pas. She began to head towards the door of the Rexford. 

‘Oh, and Violet?’, she glanced back. ‘We’ll find your kid.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked it please leave a kudos or comment! <3 
> 
> This is the first fic I've written in years, the first I've written in this fandom and the second one I've written ever! So hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I'll be updating the second chapter next week :) It's all written up I just need to edit it!
> 
> Follow me at crenarei.tumblr.com if you'd like <3


	2. Denial

Going between Sanctuary and Diamond City was supposed to be a simple, easy journey, and one Violet and MacCready had done many times. If a pre-war vault dweller could sprint, panicking, through the outskirts of ruined Boston alone in less than a day, that the two of them were hours away as the sky began to darken was ridiculous. They appeared to run into almost every Gunner, supermutant and pack of ghouls in the Commonwealth. Constant firefights had exhausted them. Violet’s muscles ached, and MacCready hadn’t stopped grumbling for the last half an hour. Although the threats seemed to be over, they hadn’t even made it into central Boston yet, so they’d need to find somewhere to sleep soon. Violet refused to travel once the darkness set in.

‘This has been the worst day of travelling I’ve ever done,’ MacCready mumbled, ‘Has someone put an order out? “No one gets to Diamond City today!”’ 

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, bumping him with her hip, ‘Cheer up Mac! It’s not like things could get much worse.’ 

The scattered clouds that covered the sky became tinged green, darkening and expanding. As if God themselves had heard her speak and made sure she had the worst day possible. Rad storms were prone to coming on quickly, but this was just ridiculous. 

‘You were saying?’ MacCready sounded smug even through his scowl. 

The first rumbles of thunder started to occur, increasing in volume until they were roaring crashes of sound. Flashes of green lightning appeared over the landscape in front of them. Rain began pouring down. Although, calling it rain seemed wrong, it was more like someone was dumping an entire bucket of water over the Commonwealth all at once. Violet couldn’t see individual raindrops at all. The pipboy on her wrist flared up, ticking louder with each second. 

‘Ugh, I fu-fricking hate getting wet.’ MacCready put the words into her mouth. 

He stormed off ahead towards what appeared to be a structurally sound shop front. It didn’t have windows, but other than that it looked functional. Violet wasn’t sure when shelters having a roof became the highlight of her week. 

The building was dry, well, damp, but she’d learned that’s the most you could ask for. Despite not being in the storm long, she was soaked. Water dripped from her fingertips and her shoes squelched as she followed MacCready upstairs to where there was good shelter. As she reached up to wring the wetness out from her hair, she realised with horror that it was completely flat, all her perfect waves gone. The pout that crossed her face at this discovery was interrupted with a sneeze. 

‘Boss, stop playing with your hair and get dry already. I want to make it to Diamond City tomorrow, not have to look after you because you got ill.’ 

Violet rifled around in her bag, attempting to find new clothes to change into. When she realised how much the water had soaked through her bag, she stifled a groan. Pulling out her spare clothes, they were just as wet as the ones she was wearing. Wringing them out didn’t help much. 

Violet glanced up to ask MacCready if he had clothes she could borrow - he was shirtless now, facing away from her, she watched the muscles in his back move as he picked up his bag from the floor - swallowing, she tried to clear her mind. Not that she was attracted to him, obviously. Nate had died only six months ago; she wasn’t interested in anything with anyone. She was just surprised. It was a natural reaction, and it meant nothing. 

‘Mac? I have nothing dry, would you please be able to lend me something?’ 

‘I told you you should find a waterproof backpack.’ He rolled his eyes, pulling out another dark green shirt from his bag. 

He was still shirtless, and Violet found herself glancing over his body. He had well-defined muscles, despite how skinny he was. 

‘Like what you see?’ he teased. 

‘No!’ Violet felt her face heat up, and her eyes widened. ‘Please, give me the shirt! Thank you!’ 

He threw it to her from across the room, and she turned around, avoiding embarrassing herself further. 

She changed quickly. Although MacCready always mocked her for wearing pre-war clothes, made with ballistic weave of course, it meant they were easy to get off. She could spend as little time partially naked as possible. Nate had been the only person who had seen her in a state of undress before, and her parents had taught her to be a modest young woman. Letting go of that was difficult. What would they think of her getting changed in front of another man? One she wasn’t even married to? Not that she’d want to be. 

The shirt was big on her, reaching almost to her knees. She was thankful to not have more of her body on show than she was comfortable with. 

She turned around, MacCready glanced up from fiddling with his bag, staring at her for a couple of seconds. 

‘Who knew you would even manage to look nice in an old shirt?’ he said. His face was pink, and he ran a hand through his damp hair as he looked away. Despite the warmth she felt across her cheeks, Violet’s teeth began to chatter. Although she was out of her wet clothes, night was upon them now, and it was cold at this time of year. 

Reaching to her bag again, she pulled out what was supposed to be a blanket. It was heavy with water. She sighed inwardly again, and she dropped it on the floor with a splat. Mac was correct, she needed a new backpack. 

MacCready held out his blanket towards her. ‘You can have mine if you want?’ 

He was cold too, she could tell. Goosebumps trailed up his exposed arms and his nose was bright red. 

‘Thank you, but I think we should both use it,’ she replied, ‘warmer that way, right? And I don’t want you to start complaining again.’ She struggled to make eye contact with him, her face heating at her suggestion. 

MacCready was good at keeping his distance. Even though she’d helped him leave the Gunners, even though she knew they were friends now, close friends even, they kept their space. Somehow that meant that sharing a blanket seemed like a step into something different. Friends share things all the time though, right? 

‘Yeah, okay,’ he mumbled, turning away. At least this was awkward for them both, Violet thought. 

After realising her sleeping bag was also soaked, they set his up against the wall to act as a cushion to the hard floor. MacCready plopped down into the corner, the blanket draped over him. 

‘C’mon then.’ 

Violet sat next to him, their legs touching. It was strange. She hadn’t been this close to MacCready since she first met him. The memory she was supposed to forget. The hug. 

Before the bombs fell, she had slept against Nate’s chest every night. Well, every night he wasn’t on active duty. He left the army when Shaun was born. Family was important to both of them, and in those six months Violet had got used to never sleeping alone. Since she had woken up, she was always alone. 

‘You’re looking all mopy again boss,’ she felt a small jab to her side. ‘Sharing a blanket with me isn’t that bad is it?’ 

She smiled crookedly at him, ‘I could think of worse things.’ 

They talked, about nothing in particular for hours. Violet complained about having to wear her hair up the next day because she was sure it was a mess. MacCready told her she at least didn’t look like a drowned rat anymore since it had dried. It was an easy evening, and she hadn’t experienced one of those in a long time. 

She was almost glad they hadn’t made it to Diamond City. 

Eventually her eyes began to feel heavy, and she rested her cheek against Mac’s shoulder. He was warm, and not a bad pillow considering how skinny he was. 

‘You can have the sleeping bag if you’d like Vi.’ 

‘No,’ she mumbled sleepily, ‘please stay.’ 

The last thing she registered before she fell asleep was his arm wrapping around her shoulders and holding her gently to his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violet and MacCready are actually the same height, so he gave her the big shirt because she knew she'd prefer it <3 <3 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos and/or comments if you enjoyed it!!
> 
> My tumblr is crenarei.tumblr.com <3


	3. Hope

_ Attention all my favourite undesirables out there. In case you haven’t noticed, looks like we got ourselves some fresh meat to run the Gauntlet _

The doors of the Nuka-World transit train locked behind them as the voice rang out of the intercom. Violet turned to look back at Harvey, the injured man who had convinced her to save his family. He picked himself off the ground a regretful look on his face. The wheels began turning, and they started their journey into a deathtrap. In retrospect, she should have realised that the raiders would be expecting them. It was so obvious, she just hadn’t cared enough to think it through.

She let out a resigned sigh as she slumped down onto one of the transit chairs, the material on them long since worn away. At least this one didn’t have a skeleton on it. 

‘Uh, Vi? We gonna escape this old cart anytime soon?‘ MacCready asked, ‘don‘t really want to become a raider gang’s next victim...‘

Fuck,  _ MacCready _ . Saving Harvey’s family from a raider gang had been a nearly impossible task  _ before  _ they realised it was a trap, now it was a death sentence. MacCready had so much to live for. A healthy son. A family.

Violet didn’t have a family anymore. Since destroying the institute she didn’t know what to do with herself. She destroyed everything her son worked towards, destroyed his life, destroyed him. All she wanted was to bring her family back together. Now she had nothing.

She didn’t mind throwing herself into life-threatening situations, but now she was bringing MacCready down with her.

‘We can’t escape this.‘ Tears welled up in her eyes at the realisation of what she had done and she buried her face in her hands. ‘It was a fun gag, the Nuka-World trains are made to withstand a nuclear bomb, they’re pretty much indestructible.‘

She remembered the advertisements when they built the rail line. They said Nuka-World was a wonderful place that would still be running in the face of the apocalypse. They didn’t realise how right they were.

MacCready took the seat next to her, pulling her hands away and holding them in his. She expected him to tell her off for charging in without thinking, putting them in danger, ruining everything all over again.

‘C’mon Vi, we can’t go down without a fight.‘ he said, ‘drowning them in your tears is a great tactic.‘

‘I thought we‘d have the element of surprise, that’s what worked so well when we took down the institute.‘ She shook her head. ‘I’ve led us straight into a death trap.‘

A sombre silence fell over the pair. Last time she‘d gone to Nuka-World, only a few years ago- few hundred years ago, she‘d been amazed by how big the place was. If the raiders infested it, they would vastly outnumber them, and the Gauntlet didn’t sound like a walk in the park. There was no hope.

She turned towards him, burying her face in his shoulder. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she mumbled into his worn jacket. ‘There’s so much you have to live for. What have I done?‘

His arms wrapped around her as he pulled her into his lap. Their faces were close together, she could feel the warmth of his breath. He was always so warm.

‘Look, Vi,’ he sighed, ‘I‘m not saying this looks good, but... we’ve both got to keep fighting.‘

‘How come you‘re the positive one all of a sudden?‘

‘Life is shi-sucks, life sucks at the moment. You‘re just throwing yourself into things because you don’t care anymore,’ he stroked her back with his hand. ‘I‘ve been there, I know what you‘re feeling, and yeah, this wasn’t exactly a good decision but you can’t just give up.‘

MacCready had seen past the mask. She‘d shrugged it off, pretended she was doing okay to everyone else. She‘d never even told the Railroad that the leader of the institute was her son. To most of the world, the synth child that they rescued was Shaun. Even the people who knew, Deacon, Nick, Piper, acted as if she handled it all perfectly well. As if anyone could handle killing their child well. 

She stopped working with the Railroad and left Sanctuary. She’d convinced everyone she was just having a well-earned break, a bit of time to herself. No one knew she wanted to disappear altogether.

Trying to leave without MacCready hadn’t worked. She told him to stay behind, but he had just followed along behind her, pretending to be ‘heading in the same direction’. It hadn’t taken long for her to give in and let him travel with her again. Sometimes he even distracted her from her sorrow.

‘Look, Mac,’ she reached up to touch his face absentmindedly, his stubble rough against her fingertips. ‘I know you came with me because you‘ve been worried about me, and you‘re right I don’t want... to... to...‘ A teardrop dripped down her cheek and he wiped it away with his fingers. ‘I don’t think I have anything to live for anymore, Mac.‘

MacCready looked just as heartbroken as she felt. He never pitied her, he understood her, understood what it was like to lose everything.

‘What about me?‘ He broke the silence.

Violet blinked, confused. ‘What?‘

It was undeniable that MacCready and Violet had a closer bond than anyone else who worked with them. Lingering gazes and lighthearted flirting. They would barely even touch other people but spent most nights curled up in each other‘s arms. They never talked about their feelings, what all that meant. Mac was slow to trust people, slow to relax around her, she didn’t want to push for more than he could give.

‘Look, Vi, you‘ve changed my life, saved me from everything that was going wrong.‘ His hand was playing with her hair. ‘I don’t want to be in a world without you. I need you, so can’t you do me just one more thing, and stay alive?‘

Violet felt her heart jolt in her chest, her eyes traced across his face, not even sure what she was looking for.

She shifted on his lap so she was straddling his legs. A flash of confusion brushed across his face, but Violet didn’t see it. She had already closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against his. 

For a fraction of a second, he didn’t kiss back, but before Violet could worry she‘d made a mistake, he pulled her closer. His stubble against her cheek, his lips cracked but soft. It had been a long time since she kissed anyone, and God she should have done this sooner. 

Violet pressed herself more into his body, wrapping her arms around his neck. MacCready let out a small groan and she felt him smile against her lips. His hands traced down her back. It made her giddy. She had never kissed anyone so desperately in her entire life.

They pulled away from each other, faces flushed, lips reddened, both breathing heavily.

‘Um... well...‘ MacCready started, but couldn’t seem to find the words, glancing away from her.

‘I‘ve wanted to do that for a long time.’ Violet breathed.

His eyes snapped back to stare at her, ‘...really?‘ He reached up to stroke her face, ‘but what about, y’know, everything... Nate?‘

‘Of course I still love Nate.’ Violet placed her forehead against MacCready‘s, eyes shut. ‘But, it’s been a year Mac, am I allowed to move on?‘

He leaned his head up, placing a tender kiss on her lips.

‘Well, I sure hope so.‘

The Commonwealth was still a dark place, the two of them were still hurtling towards a raider death trap, and Violet still had to find a way to live knowing that she killed her son. However, sometimes little pockets of happiness are enough to keep you going until the world seems less dark. She loved MacCready, that was a good enough reason to put a bullet in a raiders skull, a good enough reason to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to upload! I've been working on loads of essays recently and didn't have the energy to write anything more.


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